ON THE SECOND OF OCTOBER we are being asked to vote for the second time on the Lisbon Treaty. The fact that we are having a second vote is a bone of contention in some areas and as you might imagine misinformation is rife. A key point of interest is that all of the major political parties bar one are calling for a yes vote to accept the treaty.

We have a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt being spread by fringe political parties and groups such as Sinn Fein and Coír that are getting out of hand and more ludicrous by the day.

Ridiculous claims that the minimum wage will be reduced, that abortion will be legalised and other nonsense are being constantly quoted by them but the fact remains that these claims by Sinn Fein and others are non-runners. These were never issues to begin with and these lies are being spread by them for their own personal gains and not for those of the Irish people for whom the ratification of the treaty will solidify our place in a fairer, more democratic and more accessible European Union. More accessible for businesses thereby providing for greater employment prospects, and more accessible for ourselves by allowing us to have a greater say in a more democratic European Union.

Firstly we need to get the facts regarding the Lisbon Treaty straight so I will begin by addressing the common issues that seem to get everyone fired up.

1. We will lose our European Commissioner:
False. If we vote yes then Ireland will keep its commissioner. On the other hand if we vote no then we do run the risk of losing our commissioner. An interesting point to note about EU commissioners is that they are expressly forbidden to represent their countries of origin. Their loyalty is to the EU first and foremost.

2. It will affect our neutrality:
False – The Lisbon treaty will have no bearing on Ireland’s neutrality. The treaty will enable the EU to develop its capabilities for conflict prevention and crisis management in a manner that is consistent with Ireland’s traditional policy of neutrality. A yes vote to the treaty will not mean that Ireland will have to increase its military spending. We are still a sovereign nation and it is entirely up to us what we decide to do with our defence forces. In fact the Lisbon Treaty will actually restate our prohibition on Ireland joining any EU common defence arrangement.

3. The treaty will lead to the legalisation of abortion:
False – Abortion and other issues such as euthanasia are outside the scope of the European Union. It is up to each member state to legislate on these issues accordingly. Indeed retention of these legislative matters is one of the key guarantees that the government have secured in the run up to the referendum.

4. The Treaty will undermine workers rights and wage levels and damage family farms:
False – workers rights and public services are included in the key guarantees secured in the run up to the election. It is up to each member state to decide their minimum wage, tax rates etc.  A yes vote will not affect any of our current workers rights and wage levels.  In fact the Lisbon Treaty demands an adequate social protection and contains new protections for worker’s rights. With regards to farmers, if ratified the treaty will for the first time allow MEPs to vote on issues relating to agriculture. If you are a farmer then it will allow your MEP to have a direct say on your behalf.

So with a lot of the misinformation out of the way perhaps it is time to look at just exactly what a yes vote to the treaty will mean.

1. The Lisbon Treaty will result in a more democratic European parliament.  The new Citizen’s Initiative will allow at least one million signatures from a significant number of member states to ask the EU to take a specific initiative. This gives power to people and their national parliaments.

2. Faster decision and law making. At present decision making within the European Union requires all 27 member states to be in total agreement. This has led to scenarios where a single member state can effectively veto any decision in their own self interest and possibly to the detriment of others. If ratified the treaty will be more democratic by implementing qualified majority voting. In a nutshell this should provide individual member states with a greater say in the creation if European Law.

3. The Lisbon Treaty if ratified will make the Charter of Fundamental rights legally binding. This charter lists the human rights recognized by the European Union. These fundamental include respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights including the rights of minorities.

It is up to you to decide whether the treaty will be ratified. The treaty provides for a much fairer Europe and it actually grants us as Europeans more say in the issues that affect us the most. The treaty will allow all member states to work for our mutual benefit. I hope that come polling day your vote will be cast as an informed one and the lies of Sinn Fein, Coír, Youth Defence and others will not influence your decision.

The Lisbon Treaty is essential for Ireland’s future it is imperative that we do not lose sight of that fact in the run up to polling day.

Disclaimer – This post reflects my own opinion and in no way reflects the opinions of any third party nor those of Fine Gael of which I am a member.

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Mayor of Youghal Sandra McLellan and Deputy Mayor Michelle Hennessy are campaigning for a No Vote in next Friday’s Lisbon Treaty Referendum.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com    E Mail news@youghalonline.com

On October 2nd you are being asked to vote on exactly the same Lisbon Treaty that was rejected by 900,000 voters in June 2008.

Same Treaty – Same Answer – Democracy matters. Your vote matters

The Lisbon Treaty was a bad deal for Ireland and Europe then and it is still a bad deal.

Despite claims of the Fianna Fail government to have addressed the concerns of voters they have not secured a single change to the text of the Treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty will undermine Irelands voice in Europe. We will lose our permanent right to a commissioner from 2014.

The Treaty will undermine workers rights and wage levels and damage family farms.

The Treaty will commit Ireland to a common defence and foreign policy further weakening our neutrality.
There is an alternative. A better deal is still possible. Vote NO to the Lisbon Treaty on October 2nd.

BY NOW we all know the gritty details of how much NAMA is going to pay out for these so called ‘toxic’ debts. €54bn is an awful lot of money isn’t it? Yet we are told that it is essential for the survival of our economy. No doubt you have perhaps read much about it elsewhere so I’m not going to delve into it in detail but if anything it has put a massive strain on relations between Fianna Fáil and The Green Party. A lot of people I have been talking to have been quite pleased about this because it is building up their hopes that there might be a general election sooner rather than later.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com   E Mail  news@youghalonline.com

Most people understand that the upcoming budget will hit everyone in some way or another but at least Minister Lenihan has said that he is ruling out tax hikes. However before you celebrate, no tax hikes does not mean no new taxes and a new tax that will almost certainly be introduced if the Green Party get their way is a carbon tax. Figures have already been thrown out and about such as an 8c per litre hike in the cost of petrol and 5c per litre of diesel. So called ‘dirty fuels’ such as peat and coal will face significant increases. With regards to petrol and diesel, 70% of what we pay per litre already goes on tax.

The common line that I have been hearing is that people are screaming out for a reprieve on more swinging cuts to their pay cheques (if they are lucky enough to still draw one) and getting Fianna Fáil and the Green Party out of government before the budget is seen as a means to an end in that respect.

The growing public hatred of Fianna Fáil and by proxy the Green Party, helped enormously by the irrevocable fiasco of John O’Donoghue’s expenses, has all the main political parties in a spin when it comes to the upcoming second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The fear is that the people of Ireland will use their vote to punish Fianna Fáil and the Greens by voting no.

If you are curious then you can read this post from January 2008 where I correctly predicted a re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum if we were to vote no. In that post (which was a rant about the Green Party) I also predicted the demise of the Green Party for going into coalition with Fianna Fáil to begin with. Having just read over it again I mentioned in it that the Green Party in a member vote needed a 66% majority to decide if the party was going to support the Lisbon Treaty however only 63% of them agreed. It is interesting to see that this time around they appear to be whole heartedly in support. Their assimilation into Fianna Fáil seems to be nearing completion.

When it came to supporting the NAMA legislation, once again the Green Party put it to their members to vote if they should support it or not. Their members decided to support it but only if certain changes to the legislation were put into effect. One of these changes much trumpeted by Minister Eamonn Ryan was that the banks were going to take a share in the risk that the NAMA proposal could possibly bring about. I would have loved to been a fly on the wall when he was told that this risk sharing was only going to be a pathetic 5%. Yet another example of Fianna Fáil throwing the boot into their junior coalition partners letting them know just who is the boss.

What this serves to point out is that the Green Party are in a curious place. They are a coalition member of government in power for their first (and almost certainly last) time. As the governments majority in the Dáil is very small indeed the Green Party should be in a position to dicate terms and conditions to Fianna Fáil. They could (and should) threaten to pull out of the coalition if they don’t get their way. They should have Fianna Fáil over a barrel but they seem completely unable to use the strategic political position. Considering they only have six TDs they should still have the upper hand on their senior coalition partners. But perhaps that is the catch 22. Perhaps the Green Party need Fianna Fáil just as much as Fianna Fáil needs them.

As I said already this leaves them in a curious place. John Gormley has gone on record as saying that the Green Party are not ready to leave government yet as they still have many objectives to achieve. But one has to wonder that with their wholesale annihilation in the recent local and European elections, would it be better for the Green Party to bow out of government now and regroup? Salvage what remaining shred of credibility they have left and focus on the future.

I’m sure that if the Green Party were to issue a statement saying that they were leaving the coalition it would actually boost their credibility significantly. If anything else, collapsing the government would allow the people of Ireland to choose those who they deem most suitable for getting is out of this economic mess that Fianna Fáil are largely responsible for.

Finally, regarding the Lisbon Treaty I would like to take this opportunity to urge people not to use the referendum to punish the government no matter how much they deserve it. Make an informed decision and vote with this information in mind. The referendum is about Ireland’s future not about the future of the Green Party and Fianna Fáil.

Disclaimer – This post reflects my own opinion and in no way reflects the opinions of any third party nor those of Fine Gael of which I am a member.